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On the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season opener, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) shocked fans by announcing that MS Dhoni has handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. The captains’ photo with the trophy ahead of IPL 2024 looked different as the most experienced captains in the league’s history – Rohit Sharma and Dhoni – were absent.
It will be interesting to see how the new and inexperienced IPL captains approach the game this season. Before the action starts, here is a look at the top five most experienced captains of IPL 2024 –
Shreyas Iyer
After missing the last season due to injury, Shreyas Iyer is back as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In the 2022 season, Iyer-led KKR managed to win six games out of 14 and failed to make it to the playoffs. Iyer made his IPL captaincy debut for Delhi Capitals (DC) when Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the role in 2018. He was impressive as DC's captain. In 2020, he led the Delhi-based franchise to their first final. Overall, he has played 55 games as captain with 27 wins. The 29-year-old has a win percentage of 50.90.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul missed nearly half the season in IPL 2023 after getting injured in an attempt to save the boundary. Rahul made his IPL captaincy debut in the 2020 edition. He led the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in two seasons. From 27 games, PBKS won only 11 under his leadership.
However, his fate changed as a captain when he joined Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). In their debut season, he led them to playoffs. In the last season, LSG progressed to playoffs as well but missed Rahul's services in the eliminator. The wicketkeeper-batter has played 51 games as captain in the cash-rich league. He has 25 wins as captain and a win percentage of 49.01.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson made his IPL captaincy debut for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2021. In the next season, Samson led them to their first final since the inaugural edition. The Kerala-born wicketkeeper-batter has played 22 wins as captain from 45 games. His win percentage is 48.88.
ALSO READ: Massive blow to CSK, MS Dhoni's go-to bowler to miss start of IPL 2024, know the reason here
Hardik Pandya
The swashbuckling all-rounder Hardik Pandya is the most successful captain on the list. Pandya made his captaincy debut for Gujarat Titans (GT). In the 2022 season, he led GT to a title win in their debut IPL season. In the previous edition, Hardik led GT to the final where they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a final-ball thriller. The 30-year-old has 22 wins from 31 games as captain. His win percentage of 70.96 is not just the best on this list but way better than Dhoni’s.
After taking over the captaincy from Rohit, Pandya will lead MI for the first time against his former franchise GT at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant made his IPL captaincy debut for DC in IPL 2021 when Iyer was ruled out of the season due to a shoulder injury he picked up during an ODI clash against England. In his debut season as captain, DC finished at the top of the points table but failed to reach the final. In the 2022 season, they missed the playoffs berth by just one win. From 30 games as captain, DC have won 16. His win percentage is 53.33.
The wicketkeeper-batter missed the entire IPL 2023 season due to a horrific car accident which ruled him out of action for more than 14 months. He will be making a comeback to competitive cricket this season after getting a clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
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